Editing Gothic architecture (section)

=== Decline and transition ===
{{see also|Post-Gothic}}

[[File:St.-Eustache.jpg|thumb|right|Paris, Saint-Eustache (1532–1633)]]
[[File:Stadt- und Residenzkirche Bückeburg.jpg|thumb|right|Bückeburg, Stadtkirche (1611–1615)]]

Beginning in the mid-15th century, the Gothic style gradually lost its dominance in Europe. It had never been popular in Italy, and in the mid-15th century the Italians, drawing upon ancient Roman ruins, returned to classical models. The dome of [[Florence Cathedral]] (1420–1436) by [[Filippo Brunelleschi]], inspired by the [[Pantheon, Rome]], was one of the first Renaissance landmarks, but it also employed Gothic technology; the outer skin of the dome was supported by a framework of twenty-four ribs.{{Sfn|Watkin|1986|p=179}} In the 16th century, as [[Renaissance architecture]] from Italy began to appear in France and other countries in Europe. The Gothic style began to be described as outdated, ugly and even barbaric. The term "Gothic" was first used as a [[pejorative]] description. [[Giorgio Vasari]] used the term "barbarous German style" in his 1550 ''[[Lives of the Most Excellent Painters, Sculptors, and Architects|Lives of the Artists]]'' to describe what is now considered the Gothic style.{{sfn|Vasari|1991|pp=117, 527}} In the introduction to the ''Lives'' he attributed various architectural features to the [[Goths]] whom he held responsible for destroying the ancient buildings after they conquered [[Rome]], and erecting new ones in this style.{{sfn|Vasari|1907|p=83}} In the 17th century, [[Molière]] also mocked the Gothic style in the 1669 poem ''La Gloire'': "...the insipid taste of Gothic ornamentation, these odious monstrosities of an ignorant age, produced by the torrents of barbarism..."{{sfn|Grodecki|1977|p=9}} The dominant styles in Europe became in turn [[Italian Renaissance architecture]], [[Baroque architecture]], and the grand classicism of the ''[[style Louis XIV]]''.

The Kings of France had first-hand knowledge of the new Italian style, because of the military campaign of [[Charles VIII of France|Charles VIII]] to Naples and Milan (1494), and especially the campaigns of [[Louis XII of France|Louis XII]] and [[Francis I of France|Francis I]] (1500–1505) to restore French control over Milan and Genoa.{{Sfn|Watkin|1986|p=210}} They brought back Italian paintings, sculpture and building plans, and, more importantly, Italian craftsmen and artists. The Cardinal [[Georges d'Amboise]], chief minister of Louis XII, built the [[Chateau of Gaillon]] near Rouen (1502–1510) with the assistance of Italian craftsmen. The [[Château de Blois]] (1515–1524) introduced the Renaissance loggia and open stairway. King Francois I installed [[Leonardo da Vinci]] at his [[Chateau of Chambord]] in 1516, and introduced a Renaissance [[long gallery]] at the [[Palace of Fontainebleau]] in 1528–1540. In 1546 Francois I began building the first example of French classicism, the square courtyard of the [[Louvre Palace]] designed by [[Pierre Lescot]].{{Sfn|Watkin|1986|p=211}}

Nonetheless, new Gothic buildings, particularly churches, continued to be built. New Gothic churches built in Paris in this period included [[Saint-Merri]] (1520–1552) and [[Saint-Germain l'Auxerrois]]. The first signs of classicism in Paris churches did not appear until 1540, at [[Saint-Gervais-Saint-Protais]]. The largest new church, [[Saint-Eustache, Paris|Saint-Eustache]] (1532–1560), rivalled Notre-Dame in size, {{cvt|105|m|ft}} long, {{cvt|44|m|ft}} wide, and {{cvt|35|m|ft}} high. As construction of this church continued, elements of Renaissance decoration, including the system of classical orders of columns, were added to the design, making it a Gothic-Renaissance hybrid.{{Sfn|Texier|2012|pp=24–26}}

In Germany, some Italian elements were introduced at the Fugger Chapel of [[St. Anne's Church, Augsburg]], (1510–1512) combined with Gothic vaults; and others appeared in the Church of St. Michael in Munich, but in Germany Renaissance elements were used primarily for decoration.{{Sfn|Watkin|1986|p=211}} Some Renaissance elements also appeared in Spain, in the new palace begun by Emperor [[Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor|Charles V]] in Granada, within the [[Alhambra]] (1485–1550), inspired by Bramante and Raphael, but it was never completed.{{Sfn|Watkin|1986|p=225}} The first major Renaissance work in Spain was [[El Escorial]], the monastery-palace built by [[Philip II of Spain]].{{Sfn|Watkin|1986|p=227}}

Under [[Henry VIII]] and [[Elizabeth I]], England was largely isolated from architectural developments on the continent. The first classical building in England was the [[Somerset House#Old Somerset House|Old Somerset House]] in London (1547–1552) (since demolished), built by [[Edward Seymour, 1st Duke of Somerset]], who was regent as [[Lord Protector]] for [[Edward VI]] until the young king came of age in 1547. Somerset's successor, [[John Dudley, 1st Duke of Northumberland]], sent the architectural scholar [[John Shute (architect)|John Shute]] to Italy to study the style. Shute published the first book in English on classical architecture in 1570. The first English houses in the new style were [[Burghley House]] (1550s–1580s) and [[Longleat]], built by associates of Somerset.{{Sfn|Watkin|1986|p=238}} With those buildings, a new age of architecture began in England.{{Sfn|Watkin|1986|p=236}}

Gothic architecture, usually churches or university buildings, continued to be built. Ireland was an island of Gothic architecture in the 17th and 18th centuries, with the construction of [[St Columb's Cathedral|Derry Cathedral]] (completed 1633), [[St John the Baptist Cathedral, Sligo|Sligo Cathedral]] ({{circa|1730}}), and [[Down Cathedral]] (1790–1818) are other examples.<ref>{{cite web |last=Hunter |first=Bob |date=18 September 2014 |title=Londonderry Cathedtral |url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/british/plantation/transcripts/pa01_t06.shtml |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150925060817/http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/british/plantation/transcripts/pa01_t06.shtml |archive-date=25 September 2015 |access-date=24 August 2015 |website=Wars & Conflict: The Plantation of Ulster |publisher=BBC}}</ref> In the 17th and 18th century several important Gothic buildings were constructed at [[Oxford University]] and [[Cambridge University]], including [[Tom Tower]] (1681–82) at [[Christ Church, Oxford]], by [[Christopher Wren]]. It also appeared, in a whimsical fashion, in [[Horace Walpole]]'s [[Twickenham]] [[villa]], [[Strawberry Hill House|Strawberry Hill]] (1749–1776). The two western towers of [[Westminster Abbey]] were constructed between 1722 and 1745 by [[Nicholas Hawksmoor]], opening a new period of [[Gothic Revival]].{{Citation needed|date=April 2020}}

Gothic architecture survived the [[early modern period]] and flourished again in a revival from the late 18th century and throughout the 19th.<ref name=":04"/> ''Perpendicular'' was the first Gothic style revived in the 18th century.<ref name=":4" />